Maduro on brink as military starts to turn
President Nicolas Maduro was rocked by the highestranking military defection from his regime yesterday as tens of thousands of Venezuelans marched through Caracas calling for an end to his grip on power.
A general from the Venezuelan air force announced he no longer recognised Maduro as president, adding to growing pressure on the creaking and increasingly isolated government.
Juan Guaido, Maduro’s rival for the presidency, set the stage for confrontation with the armed forces by announcing that convoys of international aid, previously blocked by the regime, were en route.
He told a mass rally in Caracas that he had arranged humanitarian support from neighbouring Colombia and Brazil and Caribbean nations, organised in co-ordination with the United States.
It leaves the Venezuelan military with a difficult choice between blocking the much-needed medicines and food, or defying their commander-in-chief and accepting Guaido’s deliveries.
Maduro has in recent weeks been trying to shore up Venezuela’s sinking economy with cash injections, as the US tightens the noose with sanctions on the oil industry. He has tried, and failed, to access US$1.3 billion (NZ$1.8b) in gold from the Bank of England, and sold some gold to the United Arab Emirates in return for euros in cash. But his options appeared to be narrowing as the UAE ceded to international pressure and announced that they would not assist the regime with further transactions.
Todaymarks the deadline imposed by Britain, France, Spain and Germany for Maduro to call elections. If he fails to do so, they will tomorrow officially recognise Guaido as the country’s legitimate interim president – following the lead set by the US on January 23, and swiftly followed by Canada, Australia, Israel and a host of Latin American countries. Russia, China, Turkey and Iran remain loyal to Maduro, while Mexico and Uruguay have called for dialogue.